POLISH PROPERTY COMPENSATION LEGISLATION STALLED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000854 SIPDIS EUR/OHI FOR AMBASSADOR KENNEDY E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2019 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV PL SUBJECT: POLISH PROPERTY COMPENSATION LEGISLATION STALLED REF: WARSAW 782 WARSAW 00000854 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: DCM Quanrud, Reason 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The GoP is unlikely to introduce promised private property compensation -- including to Holocaust survivors -- any time soon. Ambassador Maciej Kozlowski, the MFA's liaison to the Jewish community, continues to repeat the surprising argument that Polish compensation legislation would risk bolstering pending legal claims by German nationals, even though the German government has called the claims invalid. Kozlowski and others have also pointed to the economic crisis as complicating a multi-billion dollar payment program -- indeed, the crisis does affect the optics of compensation, even if the payments would not begin immediately and would be spread out over years. For whatever reasons, private property compensation remains politically unpopular in Poland, and its prospects will get worse as next year's presidential elections approach. In tandem with EUR/OHI, Post is looking for ways to alter the domestic political calculus regarding the legislation, but ultimately it will take significant international pressure to convince Polish leaders to push the draft bill forward. Ambassador Kozlowski also updated us on the GoP's work to establish an internationally funded Auschwitz Foundation. END SUMMARY. NO PROGRESS ON PROPERTY COMPENSATION EXPECTED ¶2. (C) During an August 12 meeting, Maciej Kozlowski, the MFA's Ambassador-at-Large for Polish-Jewish relations, briefed Poloffs on the results of the June 26-30 international conference on Holocaust Era Assets, and other Polish-Jewish issues. Kozlowski asserted that, as he told the U.S. delegation in Prague, a set of "Prussian Trust" property claims in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg are complicating GoP efforts to introduce property compensation legislation. He said Polish parliamentarians have objected to introducing the legislation in Poland, because of the danger that it would be cited as a precedent strengthening the German claims. Kozlowski said it might be possible to move forward after the Trust case is settled, but he added emphatically that amidst the current economic crisis, it is hardly possible to go forward with a Polish compensation plan that would cost 20 billion PLN (approximately USD 6.7 billion at current rates). Kozlowski suggested that the Embassy consult with the Polish Ministry of Justice about ways to expedite the legal adjudication of individual property claims (since legislation to establish an administrative mechanism is not advancing). ¶3. (C) PolCouns said it was unfortunate that Polish media coverage of the Prague conference had focused almost exclusively on a straw man: private lawyers' demands for compensation for heirless properties, which would violate Polish constitutional provisions that such properties revert to the State. At issue is not heirless properties, but the commitment of five Polish prime ministers to provide compensation to Holocaust survivors and their heirs. Regarding the Prussian Trust, the German government had called the claims invalid, so it was difficult to see how that case could affect Polish legislation. Moreover, as Kozlowski had noted, the Trust case has been ongoing for two years; although it may be nearing a settlement, it had not been cited before as a major impediment to Polish legislative efforts. ¶4. (C) Kozlowski argued that it was inaccurate and unfair for international critics of GoP compensation efforts to say that Poland is the only country that has failed to make satisfactory provisions for private property restitution/compensation. He noted that the international community has not even pressed the Russian Government to provide compensation. He added that Poland's changed postwar borders complicated the compensation process enormously. AUSCHWITZ FOUNDATION ¶5. (C) Regarding Polish efforts to create an international foundation for the maintenance of the Auschwitz camp, Kozlowski noted that the GoP had received modest pledges from Germany, Norway, and Estonia. However, most prospective donor countries had indicated legal impediments barring donations to a foundation, rather than specific projects. Kozlowski indicated that project-specific donations would enormously complicate long-term planning for maintenance and restorations. He said he has consulted intensively with German counterparts, since Berlin is intent on making its donation in September, before Germany's elections and in time to use current year money. WARSAW 00000854 002.2 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Kozlowski referred to President Obama's letter to Prime Minister Tusk which expressed U.S. eagerness to consult with the GoP about the creation of the Auschwitz Foundation. He said the U.S. should consult with Wladyslaw Bartoszewski and Auschwitz-Birkenau Director Piotr Cywinski, who would serve, respectively, as Chairman of an honorary supervisory board and Director of the executive body administering the Foundation. In addition to the supervisory Board and Executive Body, Kozlowski said an advisory group is being established which would include foreign donor representatives. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: Kozlowski is not the first to tell us that property compensation legislation is not feasible at this time; Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Andrzej Halicki told the Ambassador that the legislation would not advance for two years (reftel). Like Kozlowski, Halicki cited the economic crisis as a primary cause for delay, although Post believes the crisis need not prevent the GoP from laying out a structure for payments which could start in the budgetary out years and stretch out over a decade. Unlike Kozlowski, Halicki pointed candidly to what may be a more fundamental problem: the proximity of next year's presidential elections, which makes PM Tusk and others averse to espousing sensitive legislation. ¶8. (C) COMMENT, Continued: Despite the fact that Poles living in Poland would be the primary beneficiaries -- and Jews living abroad would make up a small percentage of those receiving payment -- compensation legislation remains politically unpopular in Poland. Post can and will try to change the domestic political calculus, in part by enlisting Polish Catholic leadership on a question of fundamental justice. We will also encourage the Presidency to share with the government the political risk of supporting compensation. However, the domestic political downsides mean that PM Tusk may not make good on his promise to introduce compensation legislation unless and until there is significant international pressure to do so. ASHE